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Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wanted to include a younger cast member, to appeal to teenage audiences. With a second season of Star Trek to be produced, Roddenberry interviewed Walter Koenig on the recommendation of director Joseph Pevney.[1]:345 After casting Koenig, Roddenberry wrote a letter to Mikhail Zimyanin, editor of Pravda,[1]:344 informing him of the introduction of a Russian character, and an NBC press release announcing the character at the time stated that it was in response to a Pravda article.[2][3] Koenig always denied the "Russian origin" story and said the character was added in response to the popularity of The Monkees' Davy Jones, and the character's hairstyle and appearance are a direct reference to this.[4][5] Roddenberry had previously mentioned, in a memo to his casting director, a desire to have someone reminiscent of one of the Beatles or Monkees on the show.[1]:345

After Paramount Television signed Koenig to a contract because of the number of fan letters he received as Chekov, Roddenberry wrote in another memo "Kirk and Spock and the others actually seem rather 'middle aged' to the large youthful segment of our audience. We badly need a young man aboard the Enterprise -- we need youthful attitudes and perspectives. Chekov can be used potently here".[6]

The episode "Amok Time", which was the first episode aired during the second season, was Chekov's first television appearance. ("Catspaw", the first episode shot with the Chekov character, would be aired a month later to roughly coincide with Halloween). Because of budgetary constraints the character did not appear in the animated Star Trek.[1]:422

Pavel Andreievich Chekov was born in 2241 in Russia[7] and is a young and naïve ensign who first appeared on-screen in The Original Series’ second season as the Enterprise's navigator. According to Roddenberry, he is "an extraordinarily capable young man -- almost Spock's equal in some areas. An honor graduate of the Space Academy."[6] Chekov also substitutes for Mr. Spock at the science officer station when necessary. His promotion to lieutenant for Star Trek: The Motion Picture brings with it his transfer as the ship's tactical officer and chief of security.

By the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Chekov is executive officer aboard the USS Reliant. In that film, Khan Noonien Singh uses a creature that wraps itself around Chekov's cerebral cortex to control him and his captain. Chekov overcomes the creature's mind control and serves as Enterprise tactical officer in the film's climactic battle. Although Khan recognizes Chekov in the film, the Chekov character is not part of the crew during "Space Seed", the first-season episode that introduces Khan. Adaptations: From Text to Screen, Screen to Text calls this "the apparent gaffe notorious throughout Star Trek fandom".[8] Koenig joked that Khan remembered Chekov from the episode after he took too long in a restroom Khan wanted to use.[9]

Spinoff novels show a continued career path, but these are not considered canon in the Star Trek universe. Novels written by William Shatner detail that Chekov reaches the rank of Admiral, and even serves as Commander in Chief of Starfleet.

The 2009 Star Trek film creates an alternate timeline in the franchise.[10] In this timeline, Anton Yelchin's portrayal presents Chekov as a 17-year-old prodigy whose mathematical ability proves instrumental in a few events within the film, and whose accent provides some of the film's comic relief.

In the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, Chekov finds himself promoted to chief engineer after Scotty resigns. When Kirk orders him to put on a red shirt, a brief sting is heard as a closeup shows Chekov's nervous face, playing on the reputation of redshirts in the franchise as much as the character's shock regarding his sudden promotion.

^See p. 180. It is also noted as a typical continuity error in the sociological study of television Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participitory Culture by Henry Jenkins p. 104 as well as being flagged as major in the trivia-oriented book Oops!: Movie Mistakes That Made the Cut by Matteo Molinari, Jim Kamm p. 196